After a dramatic series of events led Stanford University to drop out of the competition, Cornell University has been named the winner in a contest to develop a high-tech college campus in New York City, reports The Wall Street Journal.

Stanford had been the frontrunner in the competition until late last week, when officials from the university said that negotiations with city officials had broken down, resulting in the college dropping its bid. Shortly afterwards, Cornell University emerged as the new leader, following an anonymous donation of $350 million, the largest in the school's history.

"I am thankful and proud that this extraordinary individual gift will support Cornell's goal to realize Mayor Bloomberg's vision for New York City," said Cornell's president David Skorton, as quoted by Inside Higher Ed. "At Cornell, our entire community has come together, in a way that happens only so often in an institution's history, with winning ideas, energy and the creativity that the Mayor's challenge deserves."

The news source reports that Cornell plans to construct a 2 million-square-foot campus on Roosevelt Island in the city, which will accommodate up to 2,000 students. Other colleges competing in the contest included Columbia University, New York University and Carnegie Mellon University. Both Cornell and Stanford consistently achieve high marks in many college rankings lists.